Protocaiman

{{Short description|Extinct genus of reptiles}}

{{Speciesbox

| fossil_range = Paleocene, {{fossilrange|66|61.6|ref={{cite journal |last1=Rio |first1=Jonathan P. |last2=Mannion |first2=Philip D. |date=6 September 2021 |title=Phylogenetic analysis of a new morphological dataset elucidates the evolutionary history of Crocodylia and resolves the long-standing gharial problem |journal=PeerJ |volume=9 |pages=e12094 |doi=10.7717/peerj.12094 |pmid=34567843 |pmc=8428266 |doi-access=free}}}}

| image = Protocaiman_skull.jpg

| image_caption = Holotype skull

| display_parents = 2

| genus = Protocaiman

| parent_authority = Bona et al., 2018

| species = peligrensis

| authority = Bona et al., 2018

}}

Protocaiman is a caimanine genus of crocodylian first described in 2018. The type species Protocaiman peligrensis was discovered in Argentina's Salamanca Formation, and lived in Patagonia during the Paleocene epoch.{{Cite journal |last1=Bona |first1=Paula |last2=Ezcurra |first2=Martín D. |last3=Barrios |first3=Francisco |last4=Blanco |first4=María V. Fernandez |date=2018-08-29 |title=A new Palaeocene crocodylian from southern Argentina sheds light on the early history of caimanines |journal=Proc. R. Soc. B |language=en |volume=285 |issue=1885 |pages=20180843 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2018.0843 |issn=0962-8452 |pmc=6125902 |pmid=30135152}} The holotype is specimen MLP 80-X-10-1, which is a partial skull.{{Cite journal|title=A new Palaeocene crocodylian from southern Argentina sheds light on the early history of caimanines|first1=Paula|last1=Bona|first2=Martín D.|last2=Ezcurra|first3=Francisco|last3=Barrios|first4=María V.|last4=Fernandez Blanco|date=August 29, 2018|journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences|volume=285|issue=1885|pages=20180843|doi=10.1098/rspb.2018.0843|pmid=30135152|pmc=6125902}}